Reviewed By Mahesh Sharma

It's quite poignant that Dave Chappelle's first Australian show opens with a giant silhouette of the man himself projected, Batman-style, onto a screen hanging from the top of the Palais Theatre stage.

The ''comic genius'' (Esquire), who at the peak of his powers in 2005 walked out on a $50 million cable TV show contract, is now a shadow of his former self.

His stand-up skits have all the energy and wit that made Comedy Central's Chappelle's Show one of the highest selling DVDs of all time, but he has lost his razor-sharp edge that made people reflect on their own views about racism. Without it he's just another comedian making crude jokes.

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Chappelle famously fled to Africa after believing his comedy had stopped exposing racism and instead was fuelling it.

Several years on and seemingly afraid to repeat the mistake, he has almost entirely dropped these jokes from his repertoire, sacrificing his hallmark ability to make us comically reflect on the enduring racism in the US and society more broadly.

Chappelle was at his finest when he directly played to the local audience, revealing how he sought companionship in Melbourne by stalking members of the sparse African population; how he thinks Mel Gibson has earned the right to say whatever he pleases; questioning the motives of an Arab audience member running out for a bathroom break; and reminiscing over curried fish fry with an afro'd Sri Lankan patron.

When he commented on the money from his contract it seemed like the perfect segue to explore his new world vision.

But it wasn't to be.

His act now entirely consists of jokes about the female anatomy, which, coming from an ageing father of three, chain-smoking his way through the performance, just seems like a sad old man trying to be cool.

Comedy legend Jerry Seinfeld once remarked that he excluded sex and swearing from his act because they only ever helped secure cheap laughs.

After a noble retreat to the motherland, Chappelle had a brilliant opportunity to be one of the very few comedians, like Seinfeld and his heir apparent Louis C.K., who was more than his jokes: their lives become the subject of pop culture themselves.